Teacher Assessment: A Continuing Controversy.

Recent literature emphasizing the relationship of content knowledge to teaching performance has provided an inducement for some evaluators to use formal tests to assess teachers' understanding of subject matter. This study, conducted at a laboratory school connected with the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), examines the relationship between subjective and objective assessment instruments, specifically, the relationship between the Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument (TPAI), a measure focusing on teacher competence, and the National Teacher Examination's Education in the Elementary School Specialty Area Test (NTE/EES), covering knowledge in eight subject areas. Thirteen interns in the Master of Arts in Teaching program were evaluated by their assigned master teachers at the beginning of the Fall semester and toward the end of the Spring semester. The TPAI was used to assess their performance competencies and the NTE/EES was used to assess their subject knowledge. Data analysis revealed substantial gains on the TPAI as compared to moderate gains on the NTE/EES from one semester to the other. These data suggest that it would be possible to employ a teacher, based upon high NTE scores, who might receive poor evaluations based upon other performance instruments. One inference that can be drawn is that an intense practicum of sufficient duration produces statistically significant gains in both classroom performance and subject matter knowledge. (Contains 13 references.) (LL)